Last Days

What a week we had! Last week we drove to Jacksonville to sell our second car, leaving us with a rental. We had our house packed up. We cleaned the house, and Friday morning we had our move-out inspection. The house checked out ok except for a crisper drawer. Somebody put a watermelon in it this summer and cracked it. Thus, we had to purchase it. As soon as we were all clear with the housing office we hit the road for Florida. Tom's mom was there so we spent our last weekend hanging out with her and the girls.

We weren't sure if the visit was going to work out, considering all we had going on. So, Grandma mailed Brendan's Christmas presents and they got there the day before our house got packed up. That meant Brendan had Christmas early.

My Pal Scout is our new favorite toy. It knows Brendan's name and how to spell it, his favorite color, food, and animal.

Makayla was studying this guy. I knew she was trying to figure out how to climb it. I told her she better not try it.



Tom and the girls really kicked up their heels.

Before we left to go ice skating we stopped for some hot chocolate and coffee and had an impromptu visit from Santa.

Brendan is obviously not a fan. Although, I don't think it's anything personal. He's not a fan of strangers at all these days. And on a side note, I just now noticed that Makayla is hugging his feet.

I enjoyed seeing all the Christmas decorations. I'm finding it a little difficult to get into the holiday spirit this year. I guess it's because we're moving across the planet two weeks before Christmas and I don't get the chance to deck the halls. I miss our Christmas tree. I like to turn it on in the morning and leave it on all day. We'll have to see what we can find once we get to Okinawa. Our baby will have a good first Christmas.

This one was a bittersweet weekend. We had plenty of fun, but in the back of our minds we knew it will be a while before we get to see them again. I'm already planning what we're going to do next summer. And thank goodness for today's technology. We'll be spending lots of time on Skype talking to everyone.

And now I'm ready to get this show on the road. I can't wait to get the traveling part over with. I am anxious about how Brendan is going to handle this jet lag. Wish us luck, and my next post will be from Japan!!

An Unconventional Thanksgiving

Since we're getting ready to move, we decided to spend this Thanksgiving having a good time with the girls. Anheuser Busch gives military and their immediate families free admission to one of their parks each year. This year we chose Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.

The highlight of Makayla's day? Getting her face painted.

They got this done while Kirsten and I rode the Sheikra, my favorite ride of the day.

The highlight of Brendan's day was getting to see the Sesame Street show.

Before we left the park we decided he needed a souvenir. Tom held up a Grover and a Cookie Monster. Brendan went with Cookie Monster.

The only ride Brendan got to ride was the carousel. For future reference, little kids must have shoes and socks to ride rides. We had neither but we snuck on the carousel.

Brendan loves french fries.

The park had more people than we expected for Thanksgiving Day, but we were able to ride pretty much anything we wanted without much of a wait.

Like the log flume three times in a row.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at Cracker Barrel. No clean up - it was great. Friday we spent the day at the Florida Aquarium.

Brendan loves fish, so he had a good time.

Can you tell?

Notice Cookie Monster riding with him.

You can tell simply from pictures that Makayla beats to the sound of her own drum. We love her for it.

By this point Brendan had seen all the fish he cared to see.

We thoroughly enjoyed the playground at the aquarium. If we had had bathing suits with us, the kids could have played in the water. Unforunately, we had to skip that part.

This is Brendan's friend Avery, who plopped down beside him and would not budge until it started to rain. The two of them were pleased to meet each other. Makayla was not so impressed.

He showed off for her by pulling up on this eel.

When we got home Makayla was sitting with me while I put our pictures on the computer. We got to this last one and she said, "You need to exit that picture." Think she's a little jealous?

We spent this past weekend in Florida with the girls. It was our last weekend until the summer. Pictures to follow!